Friday, May 23, 2014

The Union would like to inform you that the new contract has been ratified. The vote was 364-106. Thanks for your hard work and all of your support through this process.

Your new contract goes into effect now. The holiday premium increase goes into effect with the next holiday (Memorial Day). The pay increases go into effect with the beginning of the next pay period (June 1st). Please contact us with any questions.

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

In a positive development, the Union has been able to secure Auditorium A in the hospital for the contract ratification vote! We believe this will help more members be able to vote with minimal inconvenience.

The voting times remain 6 AM to 9 AM, 1 PM to 4 PM, and 5 PM to 8 PM on Thursday and Friday. Ballots will be counted on Friday at 8 PM.

The ballot will offer two choices: whether to accept the tentative agreements or to reject them and go on strike. You do not want someone else making this important decision for you and must make every effort to cast your vote.

Below is a summary of the contract changes. We will have the actual contract language at the vote. Bargaining team members will be on hand to answer any questions you may have.

Wages: 2014--Placement on an improved, union-proposed grid to address inequities or 2%, whichever is greater*

2015—2.0%

2016—2.5%*

Call pay: If a nurse is scheduled to be on call and has her/his shift extended by at least one hour (even if s/he doesn’t leave the facility or punch out/in), the time beyond the shift will be paid at time and a half.* If a nurse 60 years old or older wants to be exempted from call, s/he must inform her/his manager. Once s/he is exempted, she remains exempted unless s/he agrees otherwise.

Holidays: Holiday premium will increase to 150%. Starting in 2015, night shift will celebrate holidays on the actual holiday instead of the day before.

Staffing: The union will appoint four nurses (up from three) to the Staffing and Acuity Committee. The Committee will meet monthly until July 2014, then every other month (instead of quarterly now). The Union and management will alternate creating the agenda. If more than five ADOs are filed by a unit within a month, that unit’s staffing will be reviewed. All ADOs will receive a written response.*

HE: Nurses can volunteer for HE before agency. If a nurse agrees, she may be placed on voluntary standby instead of HE (earning $3.50/hour) and still use PTO for any lost hours.* There still is no mandatory standby.* If a nurse is on voluntary standby and is called in, s/he must report within 90 minutes.

Temporary Reassignment (pulling): Nurse will be given 60 minute notice prior to being pulled (no notice required now). Establish CCRTs’ first assignment as their “home unit” (this is necessary because a nurse cannot be pulled more than once except back to their home unit). No pulling on holidays.*

Layoff/recall: Increase notice of layoff from two weeks to 30 days. Increase recall from layoff rights from 6 months to one year.

Reporting absences: A nurse can call in up to two hours before her/his shift instead of the currently required two and a half hours.

Work schedules: Hard copies of work schedules will be posted upon the request of staff. Long-term changes to patterns schedules will require the manager to seek volunteers first, then by inverse seniority.

Discipline: Increase notice of investigatory meetings from 24 hours to two business days. Management will provide the reason for the investigation and evidence at the meeting.

Monday, May 19, 2014

This morning, the union notified St. Joe's management that all of the mandatory bargaining subjects have been resolved and that the union is going to present the tentative agreements to its membership on Thursday and Friday for your consideration.

Management has been trying to force the union bargaining team to give up our unfair labor practice complaints that have been filed with the National Labor Relations Board over their illegal infringement of our rights. They have also demanded that we promise to not file any more unfair labor practice complaints (even if they fire a member of the bargaining team!) and they want us to withdraw a request for information we have made related to staffing.

There are certain things that either side can ask for in negotiations, but that they can't make the other side bargain them. The National Labor Relations Act refers to these things as "permissive subjects of bargaining" (the others—like wages and benefits—are “mandatory subjects”) and the demands mentioned above that management is insisting on are permissive subject proposals. These are the only items still left on the table.

We believe management is trying to avoid reaching an agreement by insisting on acceptance of permissive proposals. They don’t like this approach we are taking and may try to sabotage the process, but we are not going to let them delay the contract any further. There are no unresolved mandatory subject proposals and, therefore, we are ready for you to vote.

We wish management would cooperate and provide us rooms in the hospital to have the vote, but they haven't done so at this time. So, we are going to hold the vote just a block away at the Painters Union Hall at 100 Republic Avenue on Thursday and Friday. We know the location is not ideal, but it is important that you have your vote counted, so please join us there.

The voting times will be 6 AM to 9 AM, 1 PM to 4 PM, and 5 PM to 8 PM. Ballots will be counted on Friday at 8 PM. The ballot will offer two choices: whether to accept the tentative agreements or to reject them and go on strike. You do not want someone else making this important decision for you and must make every effort to cast your vote.

Below is a summary of the contract changes. We will have the actual contract language at the Painters Hall. Bargain team members will be on hand to answer any questions you may have.

Wages: 2014--Placement on an improved, union-proposed grid to address inequities or 2%, whichever is greater*

2015—2.0%

2016—2.5%*

Call pay: If a nurse is scheduled to be on call and has her/his shift extended by at least one hour (even if s/he doesn’t leave the facility or punch out/in), the time beyond the shift will be paid at time and a half.* If a nurse 60 years old or older wants to be exempted from call, s/he must inform her/his manager. Once s/he is exempted, she remains exempted unless s/he agrees otherwise.

Holidays: Holiday premium will increase to 150%. Starting in 2015, night shift will celebrate holidays on the actual holiday instead of the day before.

Staffing: The union will appoint four nurses (up from three) to the Staffing and Acuity Committee. The Committee will meet monthly until July 2014, then every other month (instead of quarterly now). The Union and management will alternate creating the agenda. If more than five ADOs are filed by a unit within a month, that unit’s staffing will be reviewed. All ADOs will receive a written response.*

HE: Nurses can volunteer for HE before agency. If a nurse agrees, she may be placed on voluntary standby instead of HE (earning $3.50/hour) and still use PTO for any lost hours.* There still is no mandatory standby.* If a nurse is on voluntary standby and is called in, s/he must report within 90 minutes.

Temporary Reassignment (pulling): Nurse will be given 60 minute notice prior to being pulled (no notice required now). Establish CCRTs’ first assignment as their “home unit” (this is necessary because a nurse cannot be pulled more than once except back to their home unit). No pulling on holidays.*

Layoff/recall: Increase notice of layoff from two weeks to 30 days. Increase recall from layoff rights from 6 months to one year.

Reporting absences: A nurse can call in up to two hours before her/his shift instead of the currently required two and a half hours.

Work schedules: Hard copies of work schedules will be posted upon the request of staff. Long-term changes to patterns schedules will require the manager to seek volunteers first, then by inverse seniority.

Discipline: Increase notice of investigatory meetings from 24 hours to two business days. Management will provide the reason for the investigation and evidence at the meeting.

Does it matter which snack, breakfast cereal or beverage you
reach for on the grocery shelf? When it comes to your oral health, it
can make a big difference. The foods and drinks you select each contain
different ingredients, including minerals, vitamins, sugars and acids,
each with varying nutritional values and effects on your teeth and
mouth. In some, the nutritional value is very low and their ability to
cause problems to your oral health is high. The next time you reach for a
soda, think twice. It could mean avoiding a cavity, even if you
routinely use other good oral hygiene habits.

What Is So Bad?The problem with some foods or drinks is what they are made of.
Carbohydrates break down in the mouth into sugars. Sugar is detrimental
for teeth. It works as an acid to slowly harm the enamel on teeth. It
can damage the tooth structure. Overtime, this leads to cavities and
tooth decay that may be hard to halt. Any type of acid that comes in
contact with your mouth has the risk of harming your oral health.

Shoddy Food and Drink

What
is the worst of the worst? What should you avoid at all costs? The
following foods and drinks are considered the ones to vanquish from your
diet:

Carbonated beverages, including soft drinks,
are hazardous thirst quenching choices that endanger your oral health.
They have the least nutritional value, and have so much sugar and
phosphoric acid that they can begin attacking the teeth within 30
minutes.

Some drinks labeled healthy or sport drinks can also be poor
selections. Many promise health benefits, but also contain acidic and
sugary substances that lead to the breakdown of enamel on your teeth. Be
careful even with chewable vitamins, if they contain sugar.

Sticky foods, including caramel candy, sugary sweet breads and
other sweet carbohydrates are very unhealthy for your teeth. Their
sugars are harder to wash away with saliva, therefore, they stay on your
teeth longer, causing damage.

Foods that dry out your mouth, including alcoholic beverages, can
lead to an accumulation of bacteria in the mouth. Saliva is necessary
for flushing away bacteria, but alcoholic beverages keep your mouth dry.

Other
foods to leave on the grocery shelf more often are dried fruits and
starchy foods, such as potato chips, bread and fries, as well as highly
acidic fruits like oranges and lemons. If you consume them, brush your
teeth immediately afterward, or rinse your mouth with water, to reduce
their effects.

Sunday, May 18, 2014

At times when everybody lives on a tighter budget looking for
money saving opportunities is high priority. People still love to go
out, meet friends after work, enjoy a good dinner but it can get
expensive to do that. Happy hours and discounted food specials are
really popular among people every age group. Restaurants are trying to
fulfill that need with discounted menus and happy hours. But discovering
these deals is not that easy. Happy hours are not really advertised
that much and finding out who has specials and when is almost
impossible. Even online you have to dig deep.

Still, looking
online for coupons is really popular. But not everybody wants to spend
hours on the computer to search for the best deal and then it still
needs to be printed out and taken to the restaurants. To be honest, not
everybody likes to show up with paper clippings. Another way to look for
bargains is to search local papers but most restaurants do not want to
spend the money on costly ads anymore.

Membership programs offer
members to save money and to find deals online. Restaurants and bars
often post specials to spoil members with amazing food and drink deals.
Members don't have to clip out coupons anymore, they simply show their
membership card to receive specials - it is like carrying a whole coupon
book in the wallet. Some of these membership programs have a mobile
phone application what makes it even easier to find the perfect deal on
the go.

Restaurants and bars have always been looking for a way to
advertise their happy hours to attract new guests. Customer
satisfaction and appreciation is their top priority but it can be
expensive to reach those goals. Restaurants have to look for a new way
of advertising to reach out to new customers. One of the best and cost
effective ways is being spoken about and recommended in blogs and other
social media outlets.

It is very popular to share experiences on
social media sites and people rely more and more on reviews and tips
coming from sites like yelp and facebook. You know of a good restaurant
that has good food and happy hour offers, you pass it on. Restaurants
and bars can be certain that people will recommend the places where they
get their specials and extended happy hours because all of us just love
bargains and if you can enjoy more for less cash, that is called a real
deal.

Friday, May 16, 2014

Food and drink spills are among the toughest cleaning problems to
deal with for rug owners. It is a common occurrence yet some still do
not know the right way to approach cleaning up this kind of mess. Not
knowing the basics of cleaning up food and drink spills can really put
rug owners at a disadvantage and their carpets at serious risk of
long-term damage.

Whether you are having a party at your home or
are just eating in the living room, spills can happen without a moment's
notice. This is why learning how to properly clean them up is
essential. Here are some basic rug cleaning tips for food and drink
spills, which you can use the next time, you are in this kind of
situation.

Immediately Pick Up or Scoop Up the Spilled Item - Whether it is
liquid or solid, it is important that you pick up or scoop up the excess
spillage as much as possible to avoid making the problem worse. If you
are dealing with liquid food or drink spills, get a clean sponge and
absorb as much of the excess liquid as you can. For solid food spills,
carefully pick up the loose particles using your hands.

Blot the Spilled Area - After removing the excess food or drink
spilled on the rug, the next basic step that you need to do is to blot
the area with a clean white cloth or paper towels. This will help remove
the excess moisture and to lessen the chances of it staining the rug.
Pouring some warm water onto the stain before blotting will help get you
better results in removing the spill or stain.

Detergent Cleaning Solutions Work Great with Food and Drink Stains -
When faced with food and drink spills or stains, using a cleaning
solution made out of a solution of one teaspoon of laundry detergent
(non-bleach) and a cup of warm water. This will be sure to get rid of
any stains and spills coming from food and drinks. Apply this to the
stain and blot using a clean, white cloth and you'll get your rug clean
in a matter of a few tries.

These three tips can be of great help for those who are
unfamiliar with cleaning food and drink spills on their rugs. Remember
this useful advice to properly clean up any food or drink spill on your
beautiful rug.

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Tomorrow, the Union heads back to the bargaining table to fight for better staffing. We have made a number of proposals to address your concerns. Despite management's refusal to adequately address the issue, we have modified our proposals in the hopes of getting a deal.

As part of the solution, we had proposed a free charge to be available for unit coverage and support. When management said "no", we proposed that charge nurses should at least be bargaining unit nurses so they don't have to juggle that assignment with management responsibilities. Management said they wouldn't increase staff to make that happen, so we proposed making the APCMs bargaining unit nurses. Relieve them of their management duties so they can provide 100% of their time to patient care. Again, management has said no.

We will continue to seek creative solutions to the staffing crisis, but management will continue to say "no" until they hear from you!